A project supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture explores the conditions for a possible merger of visual arts organisations. The roadmap is a tool for future development and discussion.
The Artists’ Association of Finland, AV-arkki – the Centre for Finnish Media Art, Frame Contemporary Art Finland, and the House of Visual Arts (Kuvataiteen talo) have received a project grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture to draw up a roadmap for a merger of actors in the visual arts. The project will start at the beginning of 2025.
The project will focus on the possibilities of deepening collaboration and merger of different networks of organisations within the visual arts industry, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of possible mergers. The project will look at two different types of organisational networks and their potential for merger: 1) Artists’ Association of Finland and its six member associations (Artists’ Association MUU, the Association of Finnish Sculptors, the Union of Finnish Art Associations, the Association of Finnish Printmakers, Finnish Painters’ Union and the Association of Photographic Artists) and 2) Internationally active media arts associations: AV-arkki, Bioart Society, M-Cult, Pixelache Helsinki (Piknik Frequency) and the Finnish Light Art Society FLASH.
The roadmap is a tool for development and discussion, and no organisation is committed to merging at this stage.
“The project has started from the observation that although the field of associations in the visual fields is rich and varied, there is some overlap in the work of the associations. Studies have shown that visual arts associations are less funded than other arts. The tightening funding situation in the cultural sector has given the final push for this survey. However, there has been active and positive discussion in the field about collaboration and integration already for a longer time, for example within the House of Visual Arts network, says Annukka Vähäsöyrinki, Director of the Artists’ Association of Finland.
“The media arts communities have long cooperated in a wide range of projects and in developing the sector, supporting each other. There is no overlap in our activities, but all communities are struggling with limited resources. The research project gives us an opportunity to think about the development of the field from new perspectives”, says Hanna Maria Anttila, Director of AV-arkki.
Juha Heikkala, PhD, as a rapporteur
Juha Heikkala, PhD in Social Sciences, has been appointed as the project rapporteur and producer of the roadmap. Heikkala is commissioned by the Artists’ Association of Finland and will start working on the project in January 2025.
Heikkala has more than twenty years of experience on third sector organisations. He has consulted on more than 60 strategy processes with NGOs, public bodies and other communities in various sectors. Prior to his career as a consultant, Heikkala worked in the Ministry of Education and Culture and as an expert in sports organisations. Heikkala has been involved in mergers of organisations with trade union confederations, sports organisations, development organisations, Leader groups and regional district organisations. Heikkala has become familiar with the cultural sector through his consultancy work on the strategic processes of TEME and the Circus & Dance Info Finland.
“It is a very inspiring job; I see the cultural field as a very interesting sector. Times are turbulent, and I think it is important that cultural communities proactively consider their activities and possible mergers”, says Juha Heikkala.
Dialogue with the field important part of the project
The project is working on a scenario-based approach to develop future perspectives for collaboration and possible merger of visual arts organisations. During the work, the consultant will discuss with each of the studied organisations. The project will also explore artists’ views on future service needs.
The project will result in a roadmap, a written report, and guidelines, which will be published in Finnish and English. The results will thus benefit cultural communities of different sizes operating in different parts of Finland that are considering merging. The report will also include a comparative study of examples of mergers from other arts and cultural sectors.
The project partners Frame Contemporary Art Finland and the House of Visual Arts will act as information mediators and platforms for the wider community network in the sector.
Photo: Jussi Puikkonen / Artists’ Association of Finland